These concepts help us to understand that the earth is a dynamic planet and that even Ohio and the surrounding areas have had diverse climates and landscapes.

Local Geology

Southwestern Ohio has had a rich and interesting geological history, evidence of which you can see in the local landscape. From the world-famous fossil-rich 450-million-year-old local bedrock to the much younger (ca. 20,000 years old) glacial deposits that overlie it, we see that the local environment has been both a shallow tropical sea and a cold icy landscape. In the Local Geology section, you can get an introduction to the geological materials and landscape that you will see if you visit any local area where these layers are exposed.

In The Local Picture, which focuses on the local bedrock and its world-famous fossils, you can explore what life was like in the Ordovician Period, about 505 and 438 million years ago. Named for the Ordovices, an ancient Celtic tribe, the Ordovician Period marked the time when brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, crinoids, echinoderms, and trilobites prospered in the warm shallow sea that covered the tri-state region. Limestone, formed from lime, mud, and fossil shells, and shale, formed from silt and clay, are great repositories for these ancient sea fossils. Learn more about them and where to find them in Places of Interest and on the Ohio Geology Maps.

In the Limper Geology Museum, you can explore concepts dealing with changes the solar system, as well as the big picture and little picture of Earth.